Vote Smart provides easy access to congressional and state voting records and maintains a collection of key votes grouped by issue. Vote Smart uses the following criteria to select key votes:
Vote Smart provides a summary of the version of the bill text associated with each selected key vote. Our summaries are written by Vote Smart's staff and interns, who adhere to our strict policies and procedures in order to guarantee absolute impartiality and accuracy. They do not necessarily reflect the content of the final version of the bill, but rather the version voted on in that stage. While many procedural votes take place before a full chamber vote, our voting stages reflect the final reading of each chamber vote. Each key vote selection is reviewed by the project's community of advisors, who are political scientists and journalists from all fifty states.
For more information about the legislative process, see here.
| Date | State | Bill No. | Title | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 31, 2026 | KY | SB 251 | Authorizes the Department of Corrections to Establish Internal Rules for Implementing the Death Penalty | Bill Passed - House (68 - 23) |
| Jan. 27, 2026 | AL | HB 41 | Authorizes the Death Penalty for Individuals Convicted of Certain Sex Crimes Against a Minor | Bill Passed - House (73 - 6) |
| Sept. 23, 2025 | NC | HB 307 | Amends Various Criminal Justice Regulations | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (81 - 31) |
| June 24, 2025 | DE | HB 35 | Prohibits the Death Penalty | Bill Passed - House (28 - 12) |
| April 30, 2025 | NC | HB 307 | Amends Various Criminal Justice Regulations | Bill Passed - House (89 - 21) |
| March 4, 2025 | AR | HB 1489 | Authorizes the Use of Nitrogen Gas in State Executions | Bill Passed - House (67 - 23) |
| Feb. 6, 2025 | ID | H 37 | Establishes Firing Squads as the Primary Method of Execution | Bill Passed - House (58 - 11) |
| June 18, 2024 | DE | HB 70 | Repeals the Death Penalty in Delaware | Bill Passed - House (33 - 8) |
| April 24, 2024 | OK | SB 1702 | Authorizes Protections for Businesses and Individuals Involved in the Death Penalty | Bill Passed - House (68 - 14) |
| Feb. 29, 2024 | LA | HB 6 | Establishes Methods of Execution and Requires Confidentiality of Records of Information Related to the Execution of a Death Sentence | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (68 - 29) |
| Feb. 13, 2024 | ID | H 515 | Amends Penalties for Lewd Conduct with a Minor | Bill Passed - House (57 - 11) |
| April 20, 2023 | SC | S 120 | Authorizes the State to Buy Lethal Injection Drugs Without Disclosing Manufacturer Company | Bill Passed - House (80 - 22) |
| March 24, 2023 | IL | HB 3762 | Repeals the Death Penalty for First Degree Murder | Bill Passed - House (66 - 36) |
| March 3, 2023 | ID | H 186 | Authorizes Execution by Firing Squad | Bill Passed - House (50 - 15) |
| May 5, 2021 | SC | S 200 | Establishes the Firing Squad as an Alternative Method of Execution | Bill Passed - House (66 - 43) |
| April 13, 2021 | NV | AB 395 | Rescinds the Death Penalty | Bill Passed - House (26 - 16) |
| Feb. 22, 2021 | VA | SB 1165 | Repeals the Death Penalty | Bill Passed - House (57 - 43) |
| Feb. 26, 2020 | CO | SB 20-100 | Repeals the Death Penalty | Bill Passed - House (38 - 27) |
| June 19, 2019 | OR | SB 1013 | Redefines the Crime of Aggravated Murder | Bill Passed - House (33 - 26) |
| June 5, 2019 | OH | HB 136 | Prohibits Individuals With Serious Mental Illnesses from Being Sentenced to Death | Bill Passed - House (76 - 18) |
| May 23, 2019 | NH | HB 455 | Repeals the Death Penalty | Veto Override Passed - House (247 - 123) |
| March 7, 2019 | NH | HB 455 | Repeals the Death Penalty | Bill Passed - House (279 - 88) |
| May 18, 2017 | National | HR 115 | Thin Blue Line Act | Bill Passed - House (271 - 143) |
| May 16, 2017 | AL | SB 187 | Reduces Time to File Appeals for Death Row Inmates | Bill Passed - House (74 - 26) |
| May 9, 2017 | DE | HB 125 | Authorizes Capital Punishment | Bill Passed - House (26 - 16) |